Hodan Ali

Mogadishu, Somalia • 1980s

“See you in a month!” Hodan Ali called to her parents and siblings from the departures gate at Mogadishu International Airport in February 1989. Hodan was traveling with her pregnant aunt, uncle and their two young children to the United States. Her aunt had a history of difficult pregnancies and wanted the delivery handled by American doctors. Hodan was going along to babysit her cousins. She was 12 years old, and that warm, February day was the last time she saw her family intact.